Caster.



PATENTE JAN. 21, ma.

Wim/55555 A TTRNE 'UNITED srn'riis rnrnivricrrion.-

EDWIN ,H. HUMFHREY, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNORHY DIRECT ANDMESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF THREE-FOURTHS TO LAKEWOOD CASTER CO., ACORPORATION OF NEW YORK, AND ONE-FOURTH TO THOMAS JENNINGS, OFROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

CASTER.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1908.

Application filed February 25. 1907. Serial No. 359.163.A

To all whom it 'mayconcern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN H. HUMPHREY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and State ofMichigan, have invented a new and useful Caster, of which the followingis a the casters in position, owing to the liabilityof sliding orfalling, especially of heavy head or foot boards, but it is necessary toemploy some means in the warehouse, storerooms, and the like to supportthe furniture clear of the floor in order that it may be readily handledand moved about without danger of marring or mutilating the footpieces.The usual practice is to drive a small wooden peg in the opening formedin the footpiece for the subsequent reception of the caster stock orpintle, the peg having a rounded lower face, so that the articles may bemoved to and fro over the iioor without undue friction, the peg servingfurther to keep the foot pieces of the articles some distance above thesurface of the iioor to prevent injury. These pegs are removed when thefurniture is sold, and the caster stocks are inserted in the openings.The disadvantages of this method of employing wooden pegs are theexpense of the pegs and the placing of the same in position, the dangerof breakage of the pegs, and consequent damage to the furniture, and thetask of removing the pegs from the openings, an operation which oftenrequires considerable time where the pegs have become jammed.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to overcomethis and other difficulties by providing a furniture supporting memberin the form of a peg or projection that is permanently attached to thearticle of furniture, and which serves subsequently as a means forsecuring or connecting the 4caster.

A further object of the invention is tov provide a device of this classwhich may be readily applied, and which will securely hold the caster inplace.

A still further obj ect of the invention is to provide a device of thisclass which may be permanently attached to metallic bedsteads and otherarticles of furniture without the aid of tools, and withoutntheemployment of auxiliary fastenings, such as clamps, screws, bolts andthe like.

With these and other objects in view, as will more fully hereinafterappear, the invention consists in certain novel features of constructionand arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, 'and particularly pointed outin the appendedclaims, it being understood that various changes in the forni,proportions, size and minor details of the structure may be made Withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

In the accompanying drawingsz-Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of thelower portion of an article of furniture provided with a caster andcaster attaching means constructed in ,accordance with the invention.Fig. 2 is a side elevation, showing the furniture supporting and casterattaching peg. Fig.

3 is a sectional elevation of the peg member showing the initial shapeof the ring or band of compressible material which is employed to holdthe same in place. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the casterproper detached. Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating theapplication of the invention to an article formed of wood. Fig. 6 is asimilar view showing the caster removed and the peiT in position. A

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingarts throughout the several figures ofthe cirawings.

In the drawing, A designates the lower end of a ortion of a metallicbedstead or other artic e of furniture, and in carrying out theinvention, it is merely necessary to cut the tubing 0E to the pro erlength, there being no necessity of provi ing screw threads, boltopenings or the like for the subsequent attachment of the caster and itsholding means.

To the lower end of the tube A is connected a supporting and casterattaching peg 10, the bottom of the eg being rounded in order to reducethe su ace area in frictional contact with the floor or caster socket.The

n? 877,081 l n.

shank of the peg is cylindrical in form, and at the top is provided witha circular disk 11 on which the lower end of the tube A rests.Projecting upward from the disk is an annular flange 12 which fitswithin the lower portion of the tube, and surrounding this flan e is acompressible ring 15 which may be formed of rubber, or other suitablematerial7 the ring being initially plano, convex in form in crosssection, as shown in Fig. 3, and its greatest external diameterbeingslightly larger than the internal diameter of the tube A.

When the flange and its attaching ring are forced up into the tube, thematerial of which the attaching ring is composed is compressed, and itscontour in cross section is altered to that shown in Fig. 1, so thatthere will be an extensive area of the ring in .frictional contact withthe inner wall of the tube, and in practice it is found impossible towitlidraw'the ring and flange from place by the exertion of any strainor force to which the article of furniture may be ordinarily subjected.

After the peg has been placed in position, its lower rounded facepresents a very small surface for frictional contact with the floor, sothat the article of furniture may be moved around from place to lacewithout damage to the floor, and witi minimum exertion. This moving ofthe furniture While resting on the pegs will furthermore serve to polishthe lower surfaces of the pegs, so' that they may be in better shape toserve as bearings when the casters are subsequently attached.

The caster comprises a Wheel 2O and a frame 21, the latter beingprovided with a pair of arms 22 carrying the axle of the wheel.. Theframe has an opening for the reception of the lower end of a socketmember 23, the lower part of the socket being a proximately globular inform to receive t e ball shaped end of the eg, and from thence upwardbeing cylin rical in form to receive the shank portion of the peg. Thesocket member is split as shown clearly in 4, so that it may be forcedreadily on'to the peg, and when the ball shaped lower end of the peg hasbeen received in the lobular socket, the arms which comprise sai socketmember will move inward around the shank of the eg and prevent thecaster from falling from p ace.

In order to shield the socket member from strain and prevent-twisting ofits parts while the bed or other object is being moved from place toplace, the upper portion of said socket member is surrounded by anannular flange 25'which depends from the disk 11, .and in case of anystrain, the socket member is reinforced by the adjacent surface of theflange.

the disk and provide viously described; and as illustrated in Fig. 5.

When the caster is placed in position, thel principal Weight of thearticle of furniture is transmitted throughthat portion of ,the sur faceof the peg which was previously in contact with the iioor, and if thissurface has become polished through friction, the caster mayA turnmorefreely than if unpolished, so that the shifting of the furniturefrom place to place on `the supporting pegs is rather .advantageous thanotherwi'se.

1. In` caster attaching devices for furniture, a pair of members, oneprovided with a peg having a rounded end, and the other provided with asplit socket for the reception of thepeg, the peg carrying member havinga reinforcing flange snugly 'embracing the open end of the socket andserving to prevent spreading of the same.

2. In caster attaching devices for furniture, a pair of members, 'one ofsaid members having a peg, the body of which is cylindrical, the pegterminating in an enlarged spherical head, the other of said membershaving a split socket arra edto receive both thespherical andcylindrlcal portions of the peg, the peg carrying member being providedwith a flange that surrounds the open end of the socket and serves toreinforce and prevent spreading of said socket.

3. A furniture supporting peg having a cylindrical body ortion, and aspherical end, and rovided with a disk having a downwardly extendingflange spaced from the spherical bod of the peg, and a caster having asplit soc et receiving the peg and fitting partly within said flange,the latter servingto prevent spreading of the socket.

4. A caster attaching device, comprising a disk arranged to receive theweight of the article of furniture and provided at the top with avertically disposed annular flange of less diameter than the disk, aband of comypressible material surrounding the flange,

and a peg depending from the flange and provided with an enlargedrounded head for the reception of the socket of the caster member.

5. A caster attaching device comprising a disk arran ed to receive theweight of the article of igurniture, a eg depending from d) with anenlarged l- S v' L r rounded head, a fiange also depending from Intestimony that I claim the foregoing'as the lower surface of the disk,the ange being myown, I have hereto afixed my signature spaced from andconcentric with the peg, in in the presence of two Witnesses.combination With a caster having a split EDWIN H. HUMPHREY.

socket for the reception of the peg, the flange Witnesses l 'serving toreceive the split end of the socket E. HUME TALBERT,

and reinforce the same. M. E. COLLIE.

